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2/27/2009

Last night, in the Richmond vs Collingwood match the first free kick for a rushed behind was called. For those of you who havent caught up on football news until football season actually starts, first shame on you and secondly, I'll have to explain the rule to you. Last year, in the Grand Final Hawthorn rushed far too many behinds to keep Demitriou happy. So the rules of the game committee decided that a rushed behind would merit a free kick against a team that does so deliberately. This would result in far less rushed behinds (obviously, because a rushed behind would probably be worth 7 points after a shot is nailed from close range). For now, this rule is in the NAB Cup only, but will probably be put into the rgular season also. At first, I thought this rule was stupid. It meant that rushing a behind was simply not an option, and who in a crowd doesn't like booing the opposition for this?

But then I watched a few NAB cup games. The new rule seems to work remarkably well, making defenders create to find an option from the last line instead of simply working set plays from a kick in. Score 1 for the rules committee! I've decided to change the name of this blog permanently to Rushed Behind, because it is wittier and easier to tell your mates about (hint, hint, nudge, nudge).

However, the other major rule change (which I believe has been brought into the regular season) is to penalise a player with a free kick and 50 metre penalty for any attention after they have disposed of the ball. This one hasn't been umpired to the letter of the law by the officials so far, but if it is, then a further softening up of this once-great game will result. So what if you sling an opponent in a tackle after he gets rid of the ball? It doesnt hurt him, but it lets him know that he has to be quicker next time and inflicts a bit of psychological damage. Next time he will get rid of it earlier, putting your team in a better position. That Nick Maxwell was initially given 4 weeks by the match review panel is a joke, surely. Its Australian Football, not Basketball or Soccer.

As a final note, I've got an Adelaide Crows season ticket for next year, so I decree there shall be more match reports!